Chapter 569

=====[ The Forgotten Gods’ Order ]=====

“The seal of the third Holy Grail has reached its limit. Everyone, prepare accordingly.”

After summoning all the apostles for the first time in a while, Peirus informed them of an impending upheaval. For the apostles beyond the Crystal Sphere, this must have been a sudden announcement.

“Wasn’t there still some leeway until now?”

The 4th Apostle expressed doubt.

The 4th Apostle had been unable to leave Baraykruz, busy monitoring the new Beast King, Oleg, and was thus unaware of the news south of the Sky Mountain Range.

The variable of fate that the apostles were watching, the being called Ha-shal-leur, had done something in the Holy Kingdom that was so shocking it was beyond immediate comprehension.

“Originally, that would have been the case… but damage has been done to the Heavenly Barrier itself, and I can no longer suppress it with my power.”

“Damage to the Heavenly Barrier? Surely not…”

“Yes. The Evil God of Jealousy, Invidius, attempted to descend. It seems he was only able to descend with one arm, blocked by the Heavenly Barrier.”

The shock from the apostles beyond the Crystal Sphere was palpable. Even Peirus couldn’t hide his surprise at the news.

It was natural to think it would fail, but the fact that he succeeded in descending, even if only with one arm, was astonishing.

To what extent had they gone? Peirus even wanted to resurrect the dead Belcus to interrogate him. But since his soul was no longer present, it was impossible.

“Good heavens, to think such a thing is already possible… No, more than that. Then the south must be in chaos right now? Even if it’s just one arm, the descent of a god would have devastated at least one country.”

“Surprisingly, nothing happened. The fragment of Invidius that successfully descended was subjugated by Median after dozens of minutes of battle.”

The 2nd Apostle, Paulus, answered instead.

Due to the widespread wanted posters across the Holy Kingdom, he couldn’t move freely, but he still managed to gather information.

The upper echelons of the Holy Kingdom tried to downplay the incident as mere demons and monsters running amok, but with so many witnesses, gathering detailed information wasn’t too difficult.

“…Isn’t this dangerous? Until now, we’ve left her as a ‘variable,’ but to subjugate the arm of an Evil God? She’s grown too strong, too fast.”

“Moreover, that variable doesn’t necessarily work in our favor. No, isn’t she our enemy? The situation in Panam, which I was in charge of, has completely fallen apart, and the affairs in the east handled by the 3rd Apostle and the Holy Kingdom handled by the 2nd Apostle haven’t gone in our favor either.”

The 4th and 7th Apostles subtly suggested that Ha-shal-leur should be eliminated.

Even among the eight apostles, those belonging to the martial faction would balk at the idea of facing the arm of an Evil God. To have subjugated it was no ordinary feat.

Her growth rate was too fast. If left unchecked, she would soon become uncontrollable.

Moreover, judging by Ha-shal-leur’s actions, it was clear that coexistence with them was impossible. If the apostles’ identities were ever revealed, a monster they couldn’t handle one-on-one would come after them.

“I oppose. If we eliminate that girl at this point, who will stop Or-han? If the third Holy Grail is destroyed, the number of monsters will increase, and if the Great Barrier falls, the Empire won’t be able to hold out either.”

The 3rd Apostle, in charge of the east, voiced her opposition. She also harbored resentment towards Ha-shal-leur, but she had to oppose the idea of killing her now. From her perspective, Or-han was a greater threat than Ha-shal-leur.

Unlike Valenstein, who fell just before the Gate of Heroes opened, Or-han had smoothly crossed the barrier and was growing stronger at an unbelievable rate. To the point where he no longer seemed like the same person.

“I agree. The variable’s growth is unbelievable, but without that level of strength, the current Empire cannot be sustained.”

“Moreover, how do you plan to kill her? A powerhouse of that level won’t just die willingly, and we can’t intervene directly.”

The other apostles also opposed the assassination of Ha-shal-leur.

In the current situation where the balance of power in the world is precariously maintained, breaking one of the pillars supporting humanity would cause the human world to collapse like dominoes.

It wasn’t because they loved humanity or were loyal to the Empire. If they had such feelings, they wouldn’t have attempted to destroy the Holy Grail, which presupposed tens of thousands of deaths.

They were concerned about the Empire’s downfall because the apostles were also human.

As long as human society was maintained, they could operate in the shadows without issue, but if humanity itself were to fall, the apostles would lose their power base.

Like Paulus, who lost his base, the Menes Church Order, after being assassinated by Agnes.

No, it would be even worse. Paulus could at least hide his face and blend in among other humans, but if humanity itself were reduced to slaves or prey, even that would be impossible.

“Hmm…”

“That’s true…”

The 4th Apostle, collaborating with Oleg, and the 5th Apostle, active as a guest in the Dragon Kingdom, also couldn’t be optimistic that Oleg or the Dragonkin would treat them well if human society collapsed.

In the end, the motion to assassinate Ha-shal-leur was rejected.

—-

After that, the apostles continued to share information and report on the situation.

“I plan to leave the Holy Kingdom. I can no longer move freely here.”

The 2nd Apostle, Paulus, was being pursued as a priest of the Ancient Gods who had killed Paulus and stolen his face.

He had planned to use the opportunity of Ha-shal-leur and Agnes leaving for the Empire to contact his followers within the Menes Church Order, but Peirus opposed it, fearing it might be a trap.

It could be said that he had become quite pitiful in his old age.

“Or-han is busy conquering the Great Plains, and Targien is hunting my subordinates while stirring up trouble everywhere. It was a good idea to operate in a cell structure. Otherwise, I would have been in danger too.”

The 3rd Apostle hadn’t been discovered by Or-han, but due to the complications with Amin, her subordinate organizations were being annihilated by Or-han’s warriors.

Considering that it was the 3rd Apostle’s subordinates who had incited Amin, it was a rather ironic retribution.

At this point, shouldn’t Amin be called a hero of humanity?

“Oleg has declared himself the second king of Baraykruz and is suppressing the Beastmen who oppose him. It won’t take long for him to reach Ryu-rik’s level. Even if he does, it will take a while for him to move south.”

The 4th Apostle was full of complaints.

Due to being in charge of the Beastmen, he alone had to live in the freezing cold with the beasts.

Although the 4th Apostle, being a high-level magician, could maintain his body temperature, it didn’t mean his dissatisfaction disappeared.

“The Dragonkin are busy killing each other, so they won’t be turning their attention to other countries for a while.”

The 5th Apostle spoke about the civil war in the Dragon Kingdom.

The civil war in the Dragon Kingdom, named the Righteous Faction War, was a conflict arising from differing interpretations of what it meant to be a dragon.

The existing faction believed that controlling their violent nature through mental discipline was the path to becoming a dragon, while the opposing faction argued that following their primal instincts and embracing their ferocity was the true path, leading to a violent civil war.

The 5th Apostle belonged to one of the latter organizations, the Demon Cult. Although he was human, he was merely a guest.

“One of the Evil Factions, the leader of the Demon Cult, after reaching the level of a Lesser Dragon, declared himself the Heavenly Demon and is wreaking havoc on the front lines. While the Righteous Faction has the numerical advantage, the individual strength of our side is superior, so the war is at a stalemate.”

“Heavenly Demon…?”

The 3rd Apostle showed interest in the 5th Apostle’s statement, specifically in the term “Heavenly Demon.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No. I just didn’t expect to hear that term in the Dragon Kingdom. It was originally a title for the Grand Sorcerer of Ka`har.”

The 3rd Apostle didn’t know much about the historical figure, more of a legend, but she at least knew the title.

“The Death of the Sky, the Demon of the Sky, the Devourer of the Sky… A Grand Sorcerer who brought calamity to the Great Plains hundreds of years ago, but suddenly disappeared one day. And now, a Lesser Dragon in the Dragon Kingdom is calling himself the Heavenly Demon… What a strange coincidence.”

“I see. It is indeed a strange coincidence. The way of thinking of those who reach the pinnacle through violence and slaughter might be similar everywhere.”

The 5th Apostle chuckled and nodded.

He also found it an interesting coincidence. The Heavenly Demon of Ka`har was said to be an enemy of the sky, while the Dragonkin’s Heavenly Demon sought to ascend to the sky.

—-

The 6th and 7th Apostles didn’t have much to report, so they briefly shared their situations.

The 6th Apostle, a merchant traveling between Panam and Himell, was compensating for losses from halted trade with Himell by selling weapons and mercenaries to Panam. The 7th Apostle was practically under house arrest in the Imperial Capital.

His identity hadn’t been discovered, and the purpose wasn’t confinement but protection… but since he couldn’t move freely, it was effectively house arrest.

The 8th Apostle, as a warrior of Dane, was invading Panam and waging war.

The fact that the Kingdom of Dane had obtained Rune Magic was quite interesting to the other apostles. Peirus already knew, but it was news to the others.

After all, only four apostles knew that Rune Magic was the original magic taught to humans by the Ancient God Alfodr.

‘The ruins of Rune Magic…’

The 4th Apostle, one of those four, was deeply interested in the ruins discovered by the Kingdom of Dane, but unfortunately, he couldn’t go there now.

To reach Dane from Baraykruz, one would have to traverse the continent vertically.

—-

“So, what will happen if the third Holy Grail is destroyed?”

After each report, the 7th Apostle asked, and Peirus pondered for a moment before answering.

“According to the revelation left by Him… a true upheaval will begin with the destruction of the third Holy Grail. Tectonic shifts will occur, dungeons hidden in dimensional rifts will appear, and the number of monsters will increase even more than now.”

“The world will become even more chaotic.”

“That’s right. And this is my speculation… but after the third Holy Grail is destroyed, the Voice of the World Tree will reach the fairies directly. That god, with roots in the mortal world, has a stronger connection to the earth compared to other gods.”

This was a unique characteristic of the World Tree among the heavenly gods. Unlike other gods who had ascended entirely, the World Tree maintained a massive tree form, straddling both the heavenly and mortal realms.